 In a state where championships have been a plenty in the past decade, the Boston Bruins have been left in the cold. The Red Sox won two World Series Championships, 2004 and 2007; the Boston Celtics were the last Eastern Conference team to win an NBA championship in 2008 and the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl in 2002, 2004, and 2005. Led by leading scorer Milan Lucic, a 30-goal scorer in the regular season, and sharp shooting defender Zdeno Charra on the blue line, the Bruins will are primed for a run deep into the playoffs. Fans will want to get their Boston Bruins tickets to TD Garden for exciting playoff action today. Two Questions for the Boston Bruins Entering the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs Can the Bruins reverse their regular season misfortune against the Montreal Canadians? The last time the Bruins and Canadians played, the Bruins were on the right side of a 7-0 shellacking. The contest was marred by what could break out between the two teams instead of the actual game itself. In their previous meeting Charra laid out the Habs Max Pacioretty with what some called a dirty hit. Pacioretty was carted off on a stretcher and hasn't returned to action since. That 7-0 game was the highlight of the Bruins' seasons against the Habs. They went 2-4 against the Habs in the regular season and if they repeat that performance in the playoffs, the Habs' get the last laugh on this now bitter rivalry. How much does Tim Thomas have left in the tank? Thomas is far and away the heart and soul of the Bruins. He went 37-11-9 in the regular season with a spectacular GAA of 2.00. Not only did Thomas appear in 57 games for the Bruins, he was also the key cog for the Americans during the Olympics. With the lack of a proven back-up behind Thomas an injury or ineffectiveness could end the Bruins' season in a hurry. If Thomas is his normal spectacular self and the Bruins get any scoring at all, Fenway won't be the only place rocking in Beantown in June.Closing Thoughts Defense wins championships and that's what the Bruins do well. With Thomas and Charra as the last two lines of defense, there aren't two better players that the Bruins could rely on. In a series that could get physical in a hurry, the Bruins can ill afford to a suspension or a major injury to a roster that lacks a true star player. Health, defense, and timely scoring are just what the doctor is prescribing during the playoffs. If they get the right dose, fans may be buying their Boston Bruins instead of the Red Sox in the early days of summer.
|
